Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 17 June 2026
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Jun 20, 2026, 6:58:47 AM (4 days ago) Jun 20
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Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 17 June 2026
New Postage Stamp to
Celebrate 1 Million Refugee Stories
2026, the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Australia proudly marks the milestone of welcoming more than one million refugees since World War II. To mark this significant milestone, Australia Post has released a commemorative stamp to coincide with Refugee Week 2026 (14–20 June). Designed by Jason Watts, the stamp celebrates Australia’s long history of welcoming people from around the world and recognises the important role refugees have played in shaping our country. https://www.ncca.org.au/new-postage-stamp-to-celebrate-1-million-stories/
The Afghan Family Who are Safe at Last &
Full of Hope, Thanks to an Australia
Pauline Hanson Will Never Know
Above - ‘People we had never met decided that our lives mattered’: the Ibrahim family in Apollo Bay, Victoria.
International Refugee Week, two speeches paint starkly different visions of the country
They came in the chill of winter to hear their speaker, a man known to most only as a name. “Thank you,” Mohammad Ibrahim told the people of Apollo Bay. “Today I am proud to call Australia my home.”
Here, assembled before him in the Mechanics Hall, was the town that made that happen. A town that raised money so he could eat and his children could be clothed, raised hell with members of parliament, ministers, bureaucrats, journalists – anyone who would listen, and many who wouldn’t – to see that Australia upheld its obligation to him.
Four years on behalf of a family they’d never met.
“Never underestimate the power of kindness,” he said. “Because what may seem like a small action to you can become the difference between hope and despair for someone else.”
Branded an ‘infidel’
During this country’s longest war in Afghanistan, Mohammad Ibrahim worked on Australia’s behalf, as an interpreter for a government-sponsored aid project in Uruzgan province.
The program built and ran schools for children in one of Afghanistan’s poorest provinces, it taught girls to read in places where few ever set foot in a classroom.
It vaccinated children who’d never visited a hospital, and trained midwives and doctors in a country with one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world.
Ibrahim was proud of the difference his work was making: “Working on those projects was an honour for me to serve my country and also help the Australian government.” But when Afghanistan fell with terrifying swiftness to the Taliban in August 2021, Ibrahim was abandoned.Like thousands who had believed in the mission of Republican Afghanistan, who’d trusted the promises of peace and prosperity, who’d been repeatedly assured by the countries they served they would be protected in the event of calamity, he and his family were forsaken.
International hopes for a reformed Taliban, that their desire for international legitimacy would restrain their most grotesque excesses – their brutality towards women, their violent persecution of minorities – were short-lived. The Taliban were unreformed.
-
In their eyes, Ibrahim was an “infidel” – a member of the Hazara ethnic and religious minority, and one who’d served the western invaders. With his young family, he was forced to flee into the mountains. Over four long years in hiding, the family lived in caves in the highlands of Bamyan, walked over precipitous mountains to remote villages where the Taliban’s reach was limited. They also rented tiny rooms in Kabul, too afraid to go out, even to buy food, uncertain that the anonymity of the capital would be any protection.
Sometimes they had a few weeks in the same place, once a couple of months. Some days they were forced to move more than once in a single day, as Taliban sweeps drew closer. There were no schools for the children, no hospitals when they got sick.
The family then fled over the border into Pakistan, spending three freezing nights standing before the gates, hoping they could get across.
They had one stroke of fortune. Having appealed to contacts online for assistance, Ibrahim was put in touch with the Apollo Bay Rural Australians for Refugees group in south-western Victoria.
On behalf of a family they’d never met, this small band of Australians wrote countless letters to politicians and repeatedly called ministers’ offices. They emailed department officials relentlessly, seeking updates on Ibrahim’s application for a humanitarian visa.
They raised money to send to him so he could buy food and clothes for his children, and rent small rooms for his family to hide in.
They put him in contact with reporters – including this one who was invited to the event – who wrote articles trying to bring the issue of those abandoned to public and political attention.
And they managed to have Ibrahim recognised under Australia’s locally engaged employee program, a formal recognition for those who worked with and for Australia in Afghanistan “and are at risk of harm as a result of their work”. His case would be prioritised. Later, a welcome, high-level government intervention made sure it would be so.
Slowly but inexorably, the people of Apollo Bay willed Ibrahim’s freedom into existence. Read more here The Afghan family who are safe at last and full of hope, thanks to an Australia Pauline Hanson will never know
See - Inside The Birthplace Of QuakersToday I'm visiting Swarthmoor Hall near Ulverston, Cumbria – the famous home of Margaret Fell and the birthplace of the Quaker movement. Join me as I explore this remarkable 16th-century hall, uncover its fascinating history, and discover why visitors from around the world still come here today. See it here Inside The Birthplace Of Quakers
June QBC - The Stolen Wealth of SlaveryA Case for ReparationsThe June QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations by David Montero.
This groundbreaking book tracks the massive wealth amassed from slavery from pre-Civil War to today, and lays out a case for reparations that shows exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed.
In this timely, powerful, investigative history, The Stolen Wealth of Slavery, Emmy Award-nominated journalist David Montero follows the trail of the massive wealth amassed by Northern corporations throughout America's history of enslavement. It has long been maintained by many that the North wasn't complicit in the horrors of slavery. The truth, however, is that large Northern banks--including well-known institutions like Citibank, Bank of New York, and Bank of America--were critical to the financing of slavery; that they saw their fortunes rise dramatically from their involvement in the business of enslavement; and that white business leaders and their surrounding communities created enormous wealth from the enslavement and abuse of Black bodies.
The Stolen Wealth of Slavery grapples with facts that will be a revelation to many: Most white Southern enslavers were not rich--many were barely making ends meet--with Northern businesses benefitting the most from bondage-based profits. And some of the very Northerners who would be considered pro-Union during the Civil War were in fact anti-abolition, seeing the institution of slavery as being in their best financial interests, and only supporting the Union once they realized doing so would be good for business. It is a myth that the wealth generated from slavery vanished after the war. Rather, it helped finance the industrialization of the country, and became part of the bedrock of the growth of modern corporations, helping to transform America into a global economic behemoth.
In this remarkable book, Montero elegantly and meticulously details rampant Northern investment in slavery. He showcases exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed, calling for corporate reparations as he details contemporary movements to hold companies accountable for past atrocities. Obtain a copy here The Stolen Wealth of Slavery
e- Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
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Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
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New Postage Stamp to
Celebrate 1 Million Refugee Stories
2026, the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Australia proudly marks the milestone of welcoming more than one million refugees since World War II. To mark this significant milestone, Australia Post has released a commemorative stamp to coincide with Refugee Week 2026 (14–20 June). Designed by Jason Watts, the stamp celebrates Australia’s long history of welcoming people from around the world and recognises the important role refugees have played in shaping our country. https://www.ncca.org.au/new-postage-stamp-to-celebrate-1-million-stories/
The Afghan Family Who are Safe at Last &
Full of Hope, Thanks to an Australia
Pauline Hanson Will Never Know
Above - ‘People we had never met decided that our lives mattered’: the Ibrahim family in Apollo Bay, Victoria.
International Refugee Week, two speeches paint starkly different visions of the country
They came in the chill of winter to hear their speaker, a man known to most only as a name. “Thank you,” Mohammad Ibrahim told the people of Apollo Bay. “Today I am proud to call Australia my home.”
Here, assembled before him in the Mechanics Hall, was the town that made that happen. A town that raised money so he could eat and his children could be clothed, raised hell with members of parliament, ministers, bureaucrats, journalists – anyone who would listen, and many who wouldn’t – to see that Australia upheld its obligation to him.
Four years on behalf of a family they’d never met.
“Never underestimate the power of kindness,” he said. “Because what may seem like a small action to you can become the difference between hope and despair for someone else.”
Branded an ‘infidel’
During this country’s longest war in Afghanistan, Mohammad Ibrahim worked on Australia’s behalf, as an interpreter for a government-sponsored aid project in Uruzgan province.
The program built and ran schools for children in one of Afghanistan’s poorest provinces, it taught girls to read in places where few ever set foot in a classroom.
It vaccinated children who’d never visited a hospital, and trained midwives and doctors in a country with one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world.
Ibrahim was proud of the difference his work was making: “Working on those projects was an honour for me to serve my country and also help the Australian government.” But when Afghanistan fell with terrifying swiftness to the Taliban in August 2021, Ibrahim was abandoned.Like thousands who had believed in the mission of Republican Afghanistan, who’d trusted the promises of peace and prosperity, who’d been repeatedly assured by the countries they served they would be protected in the event of calamity, he and his family were forsaken.
International hopes for a reformed Taliban, that their desire for international legitimacy would restrain their most grotesque excesses – their brutality towards women, their violent persecution of minorities – were short-lived. The Taliban were unreformed.
-
In their eyes, Ibrahim was an “infidel” – a member of the Hazara ethnic and religious minority, and one who’d served the western invaders. With his young family, he was forced to flee into the mountains. Over four long years in hiding, the family lived in caves in the highlands of Bamyan, walked over precipitous mountains to remote villages where the Taliban’s reach was limited. They also rented tiny rooms in Kabul, too afraid to go out, even to buy food, uncertain that the anonymity of the capital would be any protection.
Sometimes they had a few weeks in the same place, once a couple of months. Some days they were forced to move more than once in a single day, as Taliban sweeps drew closer. There were no schools for the children, no hospitals when they got sick.
The family then fled over the border into Pakistan, spending three freezing nights standing before the gates, hoping they could get across.
They had one stroke of fortune. Having appealed to contacts online for assistance, Ibrahim was put in touch with the Apollo Bay Rural Australians for Refugees group in south-western Victoria.
On behalf of a family they’d never met, this small band of Australians wrote countless letters to politicians and repeatedly called ministers’ offices. They emailed department officials relentlessly, seeking updates on Ibrahim’s application for a humanitarian visa.
They raised money to send to him so he could buy food and clothes for his children, and rent small rooms for his family to hide in.
They put him in contact with reporters – including this one who was invited to the event – who wrote articles trying to bring the issue of those abandoned to public and political attention.
And they managed to have Ibrahim recognised under Australia’s locally engaged employee program, a formal recognition for those who worked with and for Australia in Afghanistan “and are at risk of harm as a result of their work”. His case would be prioritised. Later, a welcome, high-level government intervention made sure it would be so.
Slowly but inexorably, the people of Apollo Bay willed Ibrahim’s freedom into existence. Read more here The Afghan family who are safe at last and full of hope, thanks to an Australia Pauline Hanson will never know
See - Inside The Birthplace Of QuakersToday I'm visiting Swarthmoor Hall near Ulverston, Cumbria – the famous home of Margaret Fell and the birthplace of the Quaker movement. Join me as I explore this remarkable 16th-century hall, uncover its fascinating history, and discover why visitors from around the world still come here today. See it here Inside The Birthplace Of Quakers
June QBC - The Stolen Wealth of SlaveryA Case for ReparationsThe June QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations by David Montero.
This groundbreaking book tracks the massive wealth amassed from slavery from pre-Civil War to today, and lays out a case for reparations that shows exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed.
In this timely, powerful, investigative history, The Stolen Wealth of Slavery, Emmy Award-nominated journalist David Montero follows the trail of the massive wealth amassed by Northern corporations throughout America's history of enslavement. It has long been maintained by many that the North wasn't complicit in the horrors of slavery. The truth, however, is that large Northern banks--including well-known institutions like Citibank, Bank of New York, and Bank of America--were critical to the financing of slavery; that they saw their fortunes rise dramatically from their involvement in the business of enslavement; and that white business leaders and their surrounding communities created enormous wealth from the enslavement and abuse of Black bodies.
The Stolen Wealth of Slavery grapples with facts that will be a revelation to many: Most white Southern enslavers were not rich--many were barely making ends meet--with Northern businesses benefitting the most from bondage-based profits. And some of the very Northerners who would be considered pro-Union during the Civil War were in fact anti-abolition, seeing the institution of slavery as being in their best financial interests, and only supporting the Union once they realized doing so would be good for business. It is a myth that the wealth generated from slavery vanished after the war. Rather, it helped finance the industrialization of the country, and became part of the bedrock of the growth of modern corporations, helping to transform America into a global economic behemoth.
In this remarkable book, Montero elegantly and meticulously details rampant Northern investment in slavery. He showcases exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed, calling for corporate reparations as he details contemporary movements to hold companies accountable for past atrocities. Obtain a copy here The Stolen Wealth of Slavery
e- Wahroonga Send news of f/Friends and newsletter items to quiver...@yahoo.com.au Agenda items for Business Meeting should be emailed at wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info or handed to a co-clerk. Visit us at "Our Home" First days (Sunday), 9.30 am Meeting for Worship - Wahroonga Friends Meeting, your local peace church. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 59 Boundary Road Wahroonga NSW 2076 Email:wmnwah...@quakersaustralia.info Web: Wahroonga Local Meeting | Australia Yearly Meeting A Zoom meeting occurs 9.30 am Sundays Meeting link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting 918 558 7747 Passcode: 554662 Phone: 02 8015 6011 Please contact Paul Carter if you have any problems.
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
| |
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
|
|
|
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